Grilled Steaks

Mom had some steaks marinating in Italian seasonings for a couple days.  Tonight I grilled them.  I also made mashed potatoes and steamed some yellow squash and zucchini in Italian seasonings with onion and garlic.  I made a gravy from scratch for the mash and steak.  I don't even know what to call the gravy.  I just made it up.  I thickened beef stock with a slurry then added honey, Worcestershire, red wine vinegar, beef bouillon cubes, salt, black pepper, and red pepper.  It was pretty tasty.  I must write this one down and keep it in my collection.

Currently Listening

The Mongoose Chases Victory
by Aembience

Cream Cheese Danish

After I made that apple danish, Tryphena requested a cheese danish.  So I made it the other day.  The only thing is,  I didn't like the recipe.  It said to use canned crescent rolls.  I say that is cheating.  And we didn't have crescent rolls.  So I used the recipe for dough from the apple danish recipe and made the cream cheese filling.  However, I didn't have enough white flour for the dough so I used some whole wheat flour.  It made the dough different.  The whole thing turned out okay, I think.  Tryphena doesn't like it.  So next time I try to make this I will use crescent rolls like it says.

Currently Listening

And It Begins...EP
by Reform the Resistance

Apple Danish

I don't like to bake, but it seems like when I start baking I have bake some more.  There is a sense of accomplishment when the stuff you bake turns out good.  Last night I made Apple Danish.  It is good.  So good in fact that a good portion of it was already eaten when I got up this morning, as you can see from this picture.

Currently Listening

A Moment of Imperfect Clarity
by Spoken

Stuffed Banana Peppers and Pasta 2.0

I made stuffed peppers and pasta for dinner at the house tonight.  It was a bit  different from how we made it at the Bistro this past weekend.  I slit the peppers on one side and took out the seeds and membranes.  I cooked up a pound of ground beef and added chopped onion, squash, and bell pepper.  I blanched the peppers for about three minutes then stuffed them.  Then I put them in the oven at 350 F to stay hot until the pasta was ready.  We didn't have linguine like we used at the Bistro, so I used spaghetti noodles and added marinara, errr, pizza sauce.  Then when everything was ready I assembled the food and sprinkled Parmesan cheese over it.  So it was similar to how we make it at the Bistro, but different.  I think the Bistro version looked better, but this was pretty good as well.

Currently Listening

The Joseph Prophecy
by Kronicles

Carrot Cake 2.0

Today I made another carrot cake.  This time I used the tried and true recipe that comes from my Grandma Schrock's collection.  I must say, it turned out astronomically better.  I didn't use the mixer, unlike last time, and mixed everything by hand.  I think that played a big part in it too.  I did not over-mix it and it did not get too heavy.  Also, this recipe called for a cream cheese frosting, instead of a glaze like the other recipe.  So there was no glaze soaking into the cake and making it soggy.  So much better.

Sister-in-law Naomi, the "cake lady," frosting the cake

Mom cutting the cake

The cake

Currently Listening

Page Avenue
by Story of the Year

Stuffed Banana Peppers and Pasta

So I helped come up with a dinner special for Friday evening at the Bistro.  Like I said in my previous post, we have lots of banana peppers from the garden this year.  So I took some into work.  I slit the peppers on one side; removed the seeds and membrane; then stuffed them with a mixture of red onion, bell pepper, tomato, and jalapenos.  I was thinking about wrapping them in bacon and frying them for an appetizer, but Chef talked me out of it.  So we came up with Stuffed Banana Peppers and Pasta.  Two stuffed peppers breaded and fried; sprinkled with Mozzarella cheese and melted; served with marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese over linguine, and some toasted garlic bread.  They sold three orders Friday night.  Then when I was working last night we sold one.  It looked pretty good.  I took a picture of the stuffed peppers.  However, we were rather busy so I couldn't take a picture of the completed dish.  D'oh!  Hey, I have an idea...  You can go to the Black Bear Bistro tonight and ask for the stuffed peppers.  They are most likely running my special again.

Currently Listening

Popularity
by Jonezetta

Carrot Cake

I don't like baking.  It's too complicated.  Especially baking cakes.  You have to be very precise with the ingredients and then you can't mix the cake too much or it will flop.  However, I do bake at times.  Sometimes things turn out good; sometimes not so much.  Friday I made a carrot cake.  The last time I made a carrot cake, a while back when I was still in school, it turned out too heavy.  My friend jokingly called it "carrot steak."  The recipe I used the other day called for carrots plus crushed pineapple and coconut.  So I whipped the batter together, put it in a greased and floured dish, and baked it.  After about an hour or so it was done.  I made the glaze that the recipe said to put on it and poured it over top.  It was a lot of glaze, but I was like, hey, it's what the recipe said so I will put it all on.  The glaze all soaked in after a while.  The next day we tasted it and it was like soggy, soggy.  Too much glaze.  Too much vegetable too, probably.  I will never make that recipe again.  Carrot Cake Supreme, hahaha!  More like Soggy Carrot Cake.  So the next time I try to make a carrot cake I will use the trusted recipe that comes from my grandma.  Hey, I have today off so I make make it today.

Currently Listening

Jonah33
by Jonah33

Hummus

I make hummus a lot at the Bistro.  They half-jokingly call me the hummus king.  I think I like to make hummus more than I like to eat it.  I mean, hummus is good, but it's not my favorite thing.  I like to make it because they are so many things you can do with it.  At work we have a recipe for a basic hummus.  We can leave it as it or an we can add stuff.  I like to experiment.  I think the best one I came up with yet was a black bean, grilled bell pepper and jalapeno hummus.  It was quite good.  The Greek style version I made a while back was pretty good too.

I made hummus here are the house yesterday.  It was a 2 bean banana pepper hummus.  The two beans being garbanzo and pinto.  We have an abundance of banana peppers from the garden this year so I added 3 smaller one to the hummus base.  They kinda packed a kick because the hummus turned out quite spicy.  It's good, but kinda hot.

Currently Listening

The Heart of War
by Jonah33

Honey-Mustard Roasted Chicken

Mom had a pack of chicken quarters thawing the fridge.  I was thinking about making oven roasted barbecue chicken with it, but didn't like the recipe that Mom had.  The BBQ sauce was too simple.  I thought about getting my BBQ recipe that I have from school, but then she mentioned Honey-Mustard Chicken.  That sounded wonderful.  I had to make it.  So I made a sauce with butter, honey, mustard, and a bit of curry powder and salt.  Cleaned the chicken quarters and poured the sauce over it.  Roasted it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours.  I also made mashed potatoes and sauteed, actually steamed, yellow squash and zucchini.  It was quite good.  The honey-mustard sauce was great with the mashed potatoes.  I think this is good enough to make at the Bistro one day.

Currently Listening

Army of Love
by Jake

Baked Mac and Cheese / Roasted Veggies with Basil Pesto

The other day Mom said that something she has never mastered yet is Baked Macaroni and Cheese.  So that put me on a mission to find the perfect Baked Mac n Cheese.  I found a recipe for it in a cookbook that I have, Food & Wine Annual Cookbook 2009.  It called for elbow noodles, lots of cream and milk, a bit of nutmeg, salt and pepper, sharp and extra sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack cheese, and some cream cheese.  It had a very good taste, but wasn't quite how Mom and I were wanting it to be.  It was kind of dry and the cheese a bit curdled or something.  I think that is how a lot of baked mac and cheese dishes get.  However, we want a creamy version.  So I looked online for some recipes.  I found two.  So my mission sometime soon will be to make them and see how they turn out.

I also made Roasted Vegetables with Pesto Sauce.  I cut up carrots and sweet potatoes and roasted them for about 45 minutes.  Then I added sliced squash and cabbage and roasted it some more until the veggies were all soft.  Then tossed it all in some of the basil pesto that I had made earlier.

I hate Verizon Wireless.  I had taken some good pictures of the food with my phone, but then couldn't send them to my e-mail address because Verizon messed my phone up.  It's a long story but I could send them earlier today and now I can't.  I had to take some pics of the leftovers with Janina's digital camera.  So the food doesn't look as good as it would have with the other pictures.  Dumb Verizon!

Currently Listening

The Narrow Scope of Things
by Embodyment

Basil Pesto

Thanks to Ruthie Hershberger, we have lots of basil.  So a little while ago I made pesto with it.  It was about 4 cups of basil.  I put it in the food processor and chopped it.  Then I added 4 cloves garlic and 1 cup toasted pine nuts and pulsed it smooth.  Then added about 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese and added oil until it was the right consistency.  I'm going to use it in the vegetables that I'm making for dinner tonight.  And use it in pastas, pizzas, and whatever else later on.  Pesto is good.

Currently Listening

In a Perfect World...
by .rod laver

French Onion Soup

I made a batch of French Onion Soup for lunch today before I went to work.  I thinly sliced two pounds of onions and cooked them with a bit of sugar in a pot over medium heat for at least half an hour until they were golden brown.  Now usually when making this soup I would saute the onions in several pans for about 10 minutes or so until they were golden brown.  But I didn't have enough space in the house kitchen, and Mom was canning peaches, so I just used a big pot.  It worked, just took a bit longer.  Then, after the onions were ready, I added 10 cups of beef broth and a bit of black pepper, covered the pot, and let it simmer for 20 minutes.  Then I put the soup in a serving dish, put some chopped toasted bread on it, and sprinkled cheese over it.  Now, if you know anything about this soup, you will know that the cheese used on top is usually Swiss, or some other good melting white cheese.  Then you broil the cheese until golden and puffy.  Unfortunately, we did not have Swiss, or my other option, Provolone, so I grated some Colby and sprinkled it on top.  It was good, even with the different cheese.

I have decided to increase the vitality of my blog and start posting pictures of the food I make with each post.  So here are pics of the French Onion Soup.  Just know, it tasted a whole lot better than it looks.  It is just basically caramelized onions in beef broth.  Not so great looking, but it tastes so good.

Currently Listening

The Suburbs
by Arcade Fire

Spaghetti and Meatballs / Zucchini in Dill Cream Sauce

I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner tonight.  The classic spaghetti and meatballs.  You can never go wrong with the classics.  So yummy.  I also made zucchini in a dill cream sauce.  It sounds amazing, but in reality it was just okay.  I sliced some zucchini then cooked it in water with some dill.  After it was soft I added some butter, flour, and sour cream.  Then let it get thick.  It was good but not great. I also made cheese puffs.  Thick sliced bread with a thin layer of grated cheese, mayo, and mustard on top.  Sprinkled it with paprika and oregano, then broiled it until golden.  Yum, yum!

Currently Listening

Letters to the President
by Hawk Nelson

Shrimp Salad

We have had some cooked, frozen shrimp in the freezer for a while.  Didn't know what to do with it.  Finally, today I decided to make some shrimp salad with it.  The basic for a salad like this, be it seafood or chicken, is basically mayonnaise, chopped celery and onion.  Lots of people add seasoning salt.  I do myself.  However, the shrimp I used was already salty for some reason.  I didn't want to add anymore salt, so Mom suggested I add some lemon pepper.  I did, then tested it.  It was okay, but needed something else.  So I decided to add some Chili seasoning.  So I made a chili shrimp salad.  It's really good.  Now to eat it with some toasted bread, lettuce, and tomato tomorrow.  Yeah!

Currently Listening

The Sound, The Steel EP
by The Wedding

Zucchini Meatloaf and Zesty Zucchini Skillet

We have an abundance of zucchini and squash from the garden this year.  I knew I wanted to do something with zucchini for dinner tonight, so the other day I looked through one of Mom's cookbooks for zucchini recipes.  Two recipes caught my eye...Zucchini Meatloaf and Zesty Zucchini Skillet.

The funny thing about meatloaf is, everybody thinks their recipe is the best.  They have a family recipe that has been handed down from way back when, or they kinda make up their own recipe.  Whatever the case, I like meatloaf.  I'm not big on saying that one is better than the next.  There are so many different ways to make meatloaf.  So maybe that's why the Zucchini Recipe caught my eye.  It was a way to use zucchini and a different way to make meatloaf.

I used ground beef, grated zucchini, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, onion, beef broth, salt, milk, and an egg.  Mixed it all together and shaped it in a loaf on a baking dish.  The I cooked it for about an hour while I was preparing the vegetables for the other dish.

For the zucchini skillet I used zucchini, onion, carrot, green onion, and celery.  I cooked the veg in a skillet until they were tender, then added some garlic salt, basil, oregano, and salsa.

I also made mashed potatoes.  I think everything turned out pretty good.  Oh, and I made caramel pudding yesterday.  We ate that for dessert.

It's always fun to have friends over to eat your food.  So the other day I invited Ruthie and Reiley to come over for dinner since they are usually bored at their house while Loren is at school.  That was cool.

Currently Listening

20,000 Ghosts
by The Rocketboys

Chicken pot pie

I've been thinking about making pot pie for a couple days, but Mom said it was too hot for it.  Today was a cooler day.  It was a good day for pot pie.  There are two ways to make it.  One way has crust on the bottom and top like a regular pie.  The other way has just some sort of biscuit mixture on top.  I wanted to make it the crust way.  We had three frozen pie shells, and since I was making 2 pies, I made one other crust from scratch.  The filling was chicken, potato, corn, celery, peas, chicken stock, and some seasonings.  I put in some salt and pepper, but I think I added a bit too much thyme.  It turned out good, though.

Currently Listening

Ekklesia
by For Today

Southwestern Burritos

I like burritos.  So versatile.  So good.  You can fill them with pretty much whatever you want and they are good.  Tryphena, Austin, and I were the only ones at the house last night.  I didn't feel like making anything that took a long time.  So I looked in the fridge, saw tortillas, and had the idea to make burritos.  I cooked up some ground beef, added corn, black beans, rice, some chili powder, and a bit of ground hot pepper.  Tryphena had the idea to add Ranch dressing.  They were yummy!

Currently Listening

Honestly EP
by Brandon Clark & The American Standard